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Worlds best DAC

Went to CES this year to work on my transition to high Rez digital. I've heard many of the highly regarded players in my room or in others systems in the past. I'm actually very happy with my current cd based sound. As I listened to various DACS playing CD then high Rez, I was not bowled over. High rez was better, but only slightly so. The best (and most different) sound I heard happened to have one similarity. They were 2 non oversampling DACS with tube analog stages(Zanden and Ypsilon). These were without question the most natural sounding digital systems I heard at the show. They made CDsound miles ahead of high Rez. What gives?

PS: I understand the limitations of show auditions.
bflowers
agear
1,362 posts
 
Dvavc, I will let you know in about 2-3 months when I get it. I agree about LPs, but I would like to own both to allow access to music I enjoy. I too have been scratching around for a "miracle dac" as you say. We will see. I was eyeballing the Reiymo CDP a few years back. Fairly Gucci stuff. I cannot speak to the build quality of the big7. Are you in the US?
dvavc
81 posts
 
Hey, Agear, Couple of month passed.) So, what sup doc, did you get it? Should I dispose my analog rig and buy Lampizator?)))
BTW, i've heard it once at the show, but you know the sound of the show… plus different transport speakers etc… Hence, I couldn’t tell anything.(
agear
1,362 posts
 
12-12-14: Dvavc
Hey, Agear, Couple of month passed.) So, what sup doc, did you get it? Should I dispose my analog rig and buy Lampizator?)))
BTW, i've heard it once at the show, but you know the sound of the show… plus different transport speakers etc… Hence, I couldn’t tell anything.(

Hey Dvavc, thanks for circling back. Did you hear the L7 at the NY show? If so, you heard it with my current speakers (Mosaic Audio Illuminations). Those speakers suck for the first 3-4 months due to the torturous nature of the break in cycle of their custom inductors. Think thin and brittle with no bass. The pair at that show were not broken in at all and thus were a poor representation of both the speaker and the dac. I received the dac about 2 months ago. UPS thrashed it, and it needed to be salvaged back in Poland. From my brief exposure to it (on Illuminations that are broken in and in a dedicated sound room), it delivered an "analog" presentation with fluidity and fullness that should make most vinyl heads happy. I have heard from several L7 owners that it is comparable to vinyl. I do not own a dedicated vinyl rig and thus cannot offer a side by side comparison. If you are in NY, there are multiple owners of that dac. Worth a listen in a rig that is properly dialed in.
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